The Mark
by TEKNAM
Summary: A quick One-Shot that came to me in a dream...  Naruto's youki has poured into every girl in Konoha. When a mysterious figure form his future comes bearing a warning, can NAruto make the correct choice of mate in time? M for mature content, LEMON WARNING!


Just a quick little something I thought was… kinda fun. Nothing comes for free in the world of the Bijuu… not even for their Jinchuriki. However, this is most so for young Naruto… Read and enjoy some rather lemony goodness. WARNING! OOC Naru/Hina pairing… You'll see what I mean shortly.

NARUTO: THE MARK  
>~I recommend you listen to "Yellow Moon" by Akeboshi for the duration of this story. ~<p>

"HUUUUUHH…"

The long, bored sigh echoed around the room and bounced back into the ears of a teenage boy, and was soon followed by a frustrated groan. The boy lay on a small mattress, his sparkling blue eyes staring straight up at the ceiling while his head rested on both hands. He idly pulled his left hand out from under his lengthening blonde hair and held it up, palm facing the ceiling, staring at the strange tattoo-like mark on the back. The mark, small in size, resembled the head of a red-furred fox with nine tails billowing out behind. He'd first noticed it a few weeks ago, but had only recently found out from his tenant what it was:

Simply put, it was a blessing, and a curse. The mark was telling him two things:

"_**YOU HAVE THREE MONTHS TO FIND YOUR SOULMATE. AND IF YOU CAN'T FIND HER, YOU'LL BE STUCK WITH MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR. THREE MONTHS IS YOUR DEADLINE. Good luck, Kit… YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT!"**_

That was what his tenant, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, had told him two weeks prior. It was only a few moments after that that he'd received a knock on his door. _'Strange,'_ he'd thought, _'I NEVER get visitors, unless it's another of those remnant flash mobs...'_ He'd opened the door to find a multitude of girls in front of him. Two seconds of seeing this was all it had taken to shut the door HARD and race around the house, checking every possible exit only to find MORE girls. It had only been a few days after that, down to his last cup ramen, that he'd used a Kage Bunshin to handle the girls while he used a Henge technique to turn into a cockroach and slip out of the house, unnoticed. Three days after that he'd finally decided to call all the girls to one place to try and figure it out.

He'd learned that every single girl in the village, even some that had only been visiting, had found the same mark. He had to be sure to tread lightly around Temari, older sister of his fellow Jinchuriki Gaara, who always seemed two seconds away from whacking him over the head with her battle fan. Each and every girl present had lifted their right hand and displayed the same Mark Naruto had on his left. He'd since spent his days in his apartment, trying t get more information from the fox, but had gotten very little. The only other tidbit the fox was interested in giving Naruto was that his soul mate WOULDN'T have her mark in an easily viewed place.

The boy's boredom and frustration from lack of any REAL insight became too taxing. Even for one with stamina as great as his, the boy soon rolled over and fell asleep. It was in these moments of rest that he could properly commune with the fox without worry of being attacked while awake. NO ONE, by order of the current Lady Hokage, Senju Tsunade, last of the Sannin, was allowed to step within five feet of his home with malicious intent… or she would allow the boy to do what he liked with anyone foolish enough to disobey orders.

_**~N: TM~**_

Inside his head, Naruto sat down in front of the bars holding the great fox at bay. In the past few years, the massive Kitsune had warmed up to Naruto, letting him use his chakra without a fuss. However, as they started into what had just days before become a staring game for the two, a spark tore into Naruto's mindscape. The Kyuubi, noticing the odd fluctuation, blinked and looked over.

"_HA! YOU BLINKED! I WIN!"_ Naruto said with glee.

"_**NOT NOW, KIT! SOMEONE'S TRYING TO GET IN!"**_ The fox warned, and as Naruto turned to face the new threat, both their jaws dropped through the floor as a much older version of the boy popped into being.

"_Ugh… I need to make sure I let Ino-san know about the backlash of her new Shintokishin no Jutsu *…"_ The older version said, before noticing his younger self standing ready in defense with a befuddled expression. He then noticed his tenant, the fox, giving him one of the evil death glares he'd received whenever he did something rash or stupid. He looked at both, and then settled on a neutral look.

"_**WHO ARE YOU, AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?"**_ The fox bellowed, a stream of fire working up around its maw. The newcomer took a single step back, then held firm.

"_Listen,"_ the man said, _"I know this looks bad, but you two HAVE to believe me, I'm here to save the boy from making a HORRIBLE mistake. You see, boy… I'm YOU, from twenty years in the future."_ The boy dropped his stance and gaped. The fox, however, was less than two minutes away from blasting this unwanted intruder to high hell.

"_**BULLSHIT! NO JUTSU IN EXISTENCE HAS THE POWER TO SEND SOMEONE BACK THROUGH TIME, LET ALONE INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S **__**MIND**__** IN THE PAST!"**_ The fox shouted, letting loose a blast of fire that scorched past the boy toward the man.

The man simply cocked an eyebrow and held his ground as the flames charged towards him, and then… inexplicably stopped just seconds from his nose and fizzled out. The fox lost it.

"_**KIT, WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUT OUT MY FLAMES?"**_ The fox shouted, letting another blast fly towards the unknown man. However, as history repeated itself and the flames extinguished themselves inches from the man's face moments later, the fox looked at the boy he'd just addressed, and realized that he couldn't have put out the fires. The boy was standing dumbstruck, staring at the man and not channeling any chakra at ALL. The fox reached one of its nine tails out of the cage and whacked the boy across the head with it.

"_**KIT?"**_ The fox asked cautiously, moving his gaze back to the man. The man nodded and pulled from behind his back a large, four-cornered hat colored white with red and the kanji for "Flame" on the front. The boy's eyes rested on the hat and he snapped back.

"_Wait; if you're me, then… do I become Hokage?"_ the boy asked his older self. Again, no more than a nod was given in response.

"_For all your talk of experiencing many jutsu, you're quite lacking in knowledge of the Yamanaka clan's Mind Switch techniques, aren't you, Kyuu-kun?"_ the man said. The fox backed up in its cage.

"_**Apparently… Although, how long did it take to develop the jutsu in the first place?"**_ The fox asked.

"_Eight years,"_ the man said, a look of sadness washing over his neutral face. The boy spoke up.

"_What's wrong, Future Me?"_ he asked. The man nodded and stepped toward the boy, who made no move to defend himself.

"_I'm here to warn you,"_ The man said, _"And, hopefully, by doing so, we can change the course of history. You see… if things stay the way they are now, in three weeks, you will fail to make a decision, and this failure will make us unable to accept the title of Hokage for twelve years. If you don't choose correctly in time… it'll drive Hinata-chan to her death."_ The boy's mouth fell through the floor as his legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

"_NO! NOT HINATA-CHAN! How… how did it happen?"_ the boy asked.

"_Like I said,"_ the man said, _"in this time period, I failed to choose before the time limit expired, and was stuck with a harem consisting of EVERY girl in the village, excluding the older ladies. Hinata-chan didn't like this… she loves us, Younger Me. PASSIONATELY, she loves us. Even in the future after I failed to choose, she loved us… but the strain we constantly put on her with our indecision played into her death. About six months after the harem was finalized through Kyuu-kun's youki marking the girls permanently, Hinata-chan was found in her room…"_ The man's voice cracked as tears started falling down his face, _"hanging from the ceiling. I… I can't tell you about the injuries that killed her, but they… I…"_ The man broke down at this point, hitting his knees and wailing hard while pounding the wooden floor with both fists. The boy walked over and sat next to the man, already having started crying during the explanation. The fox knew there was barely anything he could do, so he extended three of his tails through the bars, wrapping them loosely around the two in comfort.

Fifteen minutes later, both males calmed down a bit, and the older male continued, _"It was my inability to decide and choose in time that hurt and ultimately killed Hinata-chan… But now that I've come here and warned you of what happens, I know you can change the future. Think back as far as you POSSIBLY CAN, Younger Me. I know, if you look hard enough, you'll be able to make the right decision. PLEASE… DON'T let things reach that point."_

"_But…"_ the boy said, _"I don't know… I don't know if I can do that…"_ The boy was cut short as the man's hand sailed through the air and struck him in the face. Moments later, the boy was face-to-face with the man, whose tear-streaked cerulean eyes were bent up in a look of pure horror… and almighty fury.

"_LISTEN YOU LITTLE BASTARD,"_ the man said, his pupils turning into thin, vertical slits while the whisker marks on his face became thicker, his canine teeth stretched into fangs and his fingernails, now long claws, dug into the boy's shoulders, _"YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE! I CAN NOT, __**WILL NOT**__ LOSE HINATA-CHAN! Remember all the times she stood by you and offered her help when no one else would? Remember how she ALMOST FUCKING DIED DEFENDING YOU FROM PEIN? OR DID ALL THAT SAIL RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD? That bitch Haruno wouldn't get anywhere close to us during that fight. NONE OF THEM DID. ONLY HINATA-CHAN CARED ENOUGH TO GET IN CLOSE AND TRY TO SAVE US! __**DON'T YOU EVER LOOK DOWN ON THAT!**__ She cares… she cares more for us than most of the others. Tsunade-baa cared, but like an older sister. It's the same with Ayame-chan. I won't speak ill of Kaka-sensei, but NONONE ELSE, NOT ONE NIN FROM THE VILLAGE SAVE FOR HINATA-CHAN CAME TO OUR AIDE. Now go and make the right choice!"_ The man dropped the boy to the floor hard and held a hand out over his shoulder, creating a spark that opened a portal to his time.

"_I mean it, kid…_" the man said, turning his teary blue eyes back to face the boy once more in an over-the-shoulder gaze, _"Don't make me have to come back here again. I don't want to have to keep seeing the scars on her arms and… oh Kami…"_ The man turned and opened his orange shirt to show a mark on his chest, just above his heart: The same mark as the one on the boy's left hand, but with a big, red heart around the design… with a jagged, lightning-bolt-shaped line along the left side, leaving a small portion of the head and two tails. The most profound difference was the expression on the fox's face: where his mark had closed eyes in a straight line and a small smile, the man's mark bore a single up-turned eye partially open and a downward curve for a mouth, along with a single blue teardrop from the left corner of the fox's eye.

"_And by the way, I really don't want to come back here again…"_ the man said, as he turned to step through the portal, _"Once was painful enough. Trying repeatedly with the same lack of change has gotten depressing on a suicidal level… This is the NINTH time…"_ The man stepped into the portal just in time for the boy's eyes to explode open.

"_WAIT, NINTH? __**THIS IS THE NINTH TIME?"**_ The boy screamed after the man as the portal closed. As the boy slowly rose to face the fox, the man's voice echoed into the room:

"_Remember this, kid: The fox said that your soul mate is the one with a mark on a hard-to-find spot. Who was the ONE person not to show any time the girls gathered for you? Perhaps the person who didn't show had their mark in an embarrassing place… like exactly the same as the one I showed you. You never noticed that one there, but you do have it. ONLY, and I mean ONLY, ONLY the girl with the proper mark will be willing to show you. The others will attack you. Their intentions are solely for the benefits involved, not out of true love for you. ONLY Hinata-chan never cared about the perks of becoming a hanyou; she only wanted US."_

The man's voice vanished and the boy didn't even wait. He'd made his decision. The fox watched solemnly as the boy's body vanished from the room.

"_**There's only one more duty I have to enact for you now, Kit. Only the most important duty as your Bijuu remains… And I'm going to make sure that I do it right for you. You deserve that much…" **_the Fox said as it turned slowly in its cage and waited patiently.

_**~N: TM~**_

The boy woke with a start, quickly throwing on clothes and taking off from his apartment. He covered his eyes to shield them from the harsh afternoon sun, heading immediately for the opposite side of the village.

Upon reaching his destination, he pushed his way past the guards, giving each a look in passing that clearly said, "I'll LEVEL you if you try to stop me." The guards stayed at their post, knowing full well that any threat the boy gave, silent or not, was ALWAYS followed up on.

Several rooms in, the boy found a tall man with long black hair and pale eyes sitting in front of a small table, reading a book.

"Hyuuga-sama," the boy said, bowing his head. The man, known to the village as Hyuuga Hiashi, raised his head to level his eyes on the boy.

"Uzumaki…" the man said, "what are you doing here? And why didn't my guards stop you on the way… wait… This has to do with Hinata, doesn't it? Do you have an explanation as to why she's been locked in her bedroom for the last few weeks, and only ever seen coming out for food with her arms covered in bandages?" The boy winced. His visitor from before hadn't lied; it had already started!

"Uhm… Actually, this is the first I've heard of it! Could I go see her?" the boy asked. Hiashi closed his eyes in thought.

"I suppose so," the elder man said, a worried look on his face, "Stairs are three doors to the left, Hinata's room is four doors down on the left from the top." The boy nodded and started off, only to be stopped as he heard the sound of the elder man clearing his throat. He stopped and bent his head around the corner of the door to see Hiashi narrowing his eyes right at him.

"If there's something you aren't telling me, Uzumaki, I'd suggest you say it now," Hiashi said, his voice deep and full of authority. Naruto simply smiled.

"No, Sir. I have nothing I'm keeping from you!" The boy said, darting off. As he ascended the stares, however, he silently thought, _'Honestly, Sir, you wouldn't believe me if I told you…'_

Upon finally reaching Hinata's room, Naruto steeled his nerves for what he might see, and then knocked on the door. There was a gasp of surprise from the other side, followed by sounds of drawers opening and closing. Finally, that familiar, ever-timid voice spoke from the other side of the door:

"H-hello, who's there? I thought I asked not to be disturbed!" Hinata's voice was shaking. The boy didn't want to think of what she might be doing in there.

"H-Hinata-chan," the boy said, his own voice shaking from nervousness, "it's me. I haven't seen you in weeks and was worried something might be wrong, so I came and got permission from your father to come talk to you. Can I… can I come in? I need to talk to you about things that should stay in private, just between US." A gasp and a soft thump later, the boy shook his head. How had he NEVER noticed that she fainted WHENEVER he was around?

He tried the handle and found it unlocked. Against his better judgment, he turned the knob and stepped in, covering his eyes and moving slowly so as to not hit Hinata on his way in. As he'd expected, he lightly nudged her foot when the door was about ten-percent open. Using a size altering Jutsu his friend Choji had taught him, he slipped through the door and, once he was sure he was clear of Hinata's unconscious body, opened his eyes. He had to bite back tears.

The walls and ceiling were lined with overlapping pictures, ranging from childish crayon drawings of him standing up to children who were bullying her, to full color photographs from their years in the academy and, most prominently, a rather large poster right behind him on the door of the two of them, taken only months before, when the remaining eight of Konohagakure's Rookie Nine had reassembled for a night of relaxation. The boy had suggested they all buddy up for photos, and Hinata had plastered herself to his side for the duration of the event, refusing to let anyone else have a photo with him unless it was a picture with one of the other boys, or if it was what they had dubbed the "Dream Teams" pictures, depicting who they thought would go together better.

The boy winced at the picture before him, which had depicted his first kiss with a girl: the ONLY picture of him and Hinata actually enjoying a mutual kiss. Hinata had carried a wallet-sized version around to show her friends and family for weeks, he could remember that well enough… He'd never known she'd had the picture turned into a FULL-DOOR POSTER. In hind sight, it was incredibly humbling; the one girl whose feelings had been kept from him for the majority of the time they'd known each other had finally come out during their battle with the monster known as Pein, and he'd come to accept them, not knowing if he could return them. Now, he was standing in the bedroom of the girl who'd confessed her love to him in mid-battle, then taken a near-fatal wound to protect him… and finding himself immersed in a veritable timeline shrine of their friendship. His right hand unconsciously found its way to cover his mouth.

When he turned around again, he noticed a bottle of bleach sitting on her bed, followed by a glaring red streak on her white bed sheets. Studying the stain from his position by the door, he noticed that it led all the way to where she'd been at the door, and then stopped in a small pool by her left wrist. The boy had to avert his gaze as he tapped into the fox's youki, holding a hand over her wrist to allow the Kitsune energy to heal her wound. It was only then, turning to see if the wound was healing, that he noticed, thanks to the left sleeve of her white, cotton nightgown being rolled to her elbow, the slow, intersecting chain of healing scars on her arm The Kyuubi spoke from within his head, informing him that a choice few were a couple months old. A couple months… the time that he'd discovered the girls around his door.

'_OF COURSE,'_ he thought, _'Now it all makes sense. She must have started the day she found out that EVERY girl in the village had been marked. It must have broken her heart…_ I hurt you, Hinata-chan…" The boy said, finishing his thought out loud in a soft whisper. Now refusing to avert her gaze, he allowed the fox's youki to pour out and clean up the room, leaving it as she had it, but removing all the red stains from the sheets and floor as he bent down to pick up her unconscious body. Moving slowly, he walked to the now pristine bed and laid her down, making sure to cover her with the sheets. He sat next to the bed for a few minutes before the soft sound of groans and rustling sheets got him moving. He watched as her eyelids fluttered open, allowing the room's dim bulb to partially light those pale eyes he'd looked into the night he'd kissed her.

"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered, dazed, "W-what a-are you d-doing in here?" She noticed where she was and was suddenly terrified. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd seen everything. Instead of screaming, she bowed her head and pointed at the door.

"P-please… just leave…" she said, feeling betrayed and … somewhat violated. Naruto, being who he was, missed this.

"B-but, I came to see if everything was alright…" he said, before a sharp pain in his chest indicated that she'd sent a spike of chakra into his stomach. He doubled over, about to protest when a single hand, rolled into a fist sailed into his face and sent him soaring into the wall by the door. Naruto caught his breath and stood slowly, watching with half-open eyes as she left the bed, getting to both feet and walking toward him in a menacing way.

"I SAID LEAVE," she said, fury and outrage in her eyes, "UNLESS YOU WANT THE NEXT ONE IN YOUR HEAD!" Naruto staggered aside as her fist sailed past, slamming into the open space where his head had been. Naruto, now fully alert, dodged aside again as another chakra-charged punch sailed past him, slamming into the wall above her dresser.

_**~N: TM~**_

Downstairs, two Hyuuga guards ran into the clan head's study. The elder man sat down at his desk.

"SIR, we should go up and extract the boy!" one of the guards said, before Hiashi shook his head. When the guards asked why, the man leveled his pale eyes at the two men.

"Uzumaki took this on himself. He was willing to try, so he should have been willing to accept the consequences of his choices. I say we let Hinata teach him a lesson. It serves him right," Hiashi said, just as an infuriated shriek of "JUHO SOSHIKEN*!" tore through the house and two small explosions rocked the foundation.

"He brought it on himself…" Hiashi said, as if trying to convince himself.__

_**~N: TM~**_

Back upstairs, Hinata was slipping further into despair. Every time Naruto dodged, she would wind up striking one of her precious pictures of Naruto, damaging it beyond repair. After about five minutes, she lost control and collapsed to her knees, weeping hard as Naruto knelt down in front of her and pulled her into a close embrace. Despite her attempts to push him away, Naruto wouldn't budge, prompting her to try and strike him in the head.

However, unlike before, when she brought her chakra-covered hand down to hit him, she felt him tense against her. Feeling Naruto brace for impact made her stop and assess the situation. She'd gotten out of bed to hear Naruto, her beloved Naruto, at her door. Surprised and overjoyed, she'd fainted. When she awoke, she found Naruto hovering over her, eyes filled with worry. She had attacked him out of outrage… why had she been angry?

"_Was it because he saw her in her bed clothes?"_ she asked herself, answering with a solid _"No."_

"_Was it because he saw how she'd surrounded herself with his image by hanging pictures of him all around her room?"_ she asked, again answering _"No."_

The more she thought about it, the fewer and fewer plausible reasons she could find. She'd always dreamt of Naruto seeing her they way she was dressed, and she'd always planned to invite him into her room to show him her bedroom shrine. She'd always fantasized about Naruto tending to her when she was sick and injured, and each of those fantasies had always involved her opening her eyes to see his beautiful blue orbs looking directly into hers from above with worry. But had any of her plans, dreams, or fantasies involved getting mad and angry?

… Now that she thought about it, the only time that had ever crossed her mind was with ONE scenario she'd dreamt about, in which Naruto had walked into their house with a bevy of the other village girls, telling Hinata he didn't want her around anymore. Only in that one dream had she awakened to find herself sleeping on the floor with her left hand elbow deep in the wooden floor, no doubt from when she'd clocked him in the jaw with her Jyuken*. Unable to strike the love of her life, she instead collapsed into his arms, weeping into his shirt and he held her close and released his own tears silently.

After a few minutes, she looked him in the eyes and asked, "Naruto-kun… why are you crying? I attacked YOU, remember?" Naruto gazed deep into her soft, light-lavender eyes.

"Would you believe me if I told you I just got visions of what might happen to you if I let things keep going?" he asked, shaking his head when she gave him an incredulous look, then saying, "thought not… You wouldn't want to know what happens anyway…" He gave her a look of pain, which she took to mean that whatever he had seen wasn't anything she really wanted to hear.

"But, aside from that," Naruto said, "I'm crying because how big of an oblivious idiot I've been over the years. All this time we've known each other… Hinata, I'm so sorry for how I've behaved over the years. Words can't even describe how sorry I am… I was always SO focused on my goals that I never noticed anything else around me unless I REALLY wanted to… I've been such a jerk towards you that it's not even funny. Except for the years I was gone, you've been there for me when I needed help and no one else would help me. You've done so much for me…"

"B-but," Hinata asked, "What about Sakura-san?" Naruto scoffed.

"The pink-haired banshee can go drop dead. No matter how many times I tried, she shot me down with her fists. You never did. Your reasons for … dare I say, loving me are more pure than any other in the village."

Hinata's cheeks flushed deep red. She'd only told him once… maybe…

"I remember the fight against Pein, Hinata-chan, and I remember what you did for me," Naruto said, "You stepped up to defend me when no one else would. You were ready to die to see me safe and sound. It kills me that I never thought about it until today. That's why … I'd like YOU to be my partner for life." Naruto watched as Hinata's face turned an even deeper shade of red, her eyelids closing a bit as her eyes rolled up in her head.

"Hinata-chan, PLEASE don't faint on me!" he asked, sounding scared. Hinata snapped back and winked.

"Got you!" she said, chuckling when Naruto gave her an "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" look. He shook his head.

"But really, Naruto-kun… Why not any of the other girls? Why come to me?" Hinata asked.

Naruto looked her deep in the eyes, and then leaned in the gently kiss her lips. Hinata's eyes popped open wide, then slowly closed. She was getting her wish all over again. When he pulled away, he smiled.

"I chose you for two reasons: you're the only girl in the village to have pure intentions in mind when you think of me… and two, you're the only girl in town I've EVER kissed twice, let alone once. Not one of the other girls will let me get close enough. I know that may sound really simplistic, but… You're the only one I can think of that I know will look out for me, the only one I KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who will have my back and make me happy. In fact, I think I'll apply to have us placed on a two-man team. I don't know if I'll ever achieve my dreams, but… I just can't see my life without you in it." Naruto closed his eyes in a joyful smile just moments before Hinata made her move, capturing his lips in her own kiss. Unlike Naruto, however, Hinata was determined to show how great her feelings were. So it was no small surprise to Naruto when he felt her tongue snake its way into his mouth. What surprised him more was that he didn't resist or fight… he let her in. Fifteen minutes flew by before she let go, resting in his arms and reveling in the feeling of security she felt, her blush fading.

Naruto smiled, but soon heard the fox's voice in his head.

"_**Kit, listen. Just choosing her isn't the end of this. I neglected to tell you… that you're going to have to perform a bit of a ritual to solidify the whole thing. In short… you have to make love to her,"**_ the fox said, causing Naruto to go suddenly rigid.

"_How soon?"_ he asked.

"_**HOW ABOUT YOU THINK ABOUT DOING IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?"**_ The fox shouted, _**"The longer you wait, the weaker the link between you will be. It's already been a couple weeks, so the link between you after this will be a powerful one. But if you beat around the bush and try to build anything from here, you're going to run out of time. I'll walk you through what it entails, but you HAVE to make sure about her mark. Remember what your older self told you: only your soul mate will be willing to show you where her mark is."**_ Naruto nodded.

"Hinata-chan… I have something really sensitive I need to ask you…" he said, pulling away for a moment and gathering his courage, "Can you show me your mark?" Hinata's eyes widened, but, despite the heavy blush returning to her face, she moved a few inches away from Naruto and reached for the upper hem of her nightgown.

"I've only ever thought about showing it to you, Naruto-kun… I haven't even shown my sister or father…" she said, pulling the hem down a bit to show Naruto the mark. He nodded; the mark was set right over her heart, and bore the same look as the mark on Naruto's hand, only cut clean in half with half a heart around it. Naruto opened his own shirt, not noticing the slightly deeper shade of red Hinata's face turned as he revealed the other half of her mark.

"Hinata-chan… We have to move quickly. We can't take too long, or any link made between us will become weak. The fox told me we have to… to …" Naruto found himself silenced as Hinata placed a finger over his lips and nodded.

"I got that idea when you asked to see my mark, Naruto-kun. It's alright; I'd only ever dreamt of doing that with you. And it doesn't matter to me; we may have to take things fast to claim each other… but once that's been done we can take things as slowly as we like," Hinata said, standing and giving Naruto her hand. Naruto stood and smiled.

"The fox…also told me that the first time we… do it, I have to … you know, inside, to seal it," Naruto said, sounding more nervous than he ever had. Hinata pulled him up and into her arms.

"I already told you; I DON'T CARE. You're the only one I've ever thought about, the only one I've ever thought of giving everything to protect, next to my team who come in a very close second. I'll do whatever it takes for us to be together, Naruto-kun… even if it means having to be a mother in my teen years," Hinata said. Naruto nodded, tears rolling down his eyes, as the fox whispered in his head. He perked up and whispered what the fox told him in Hinata's ear.

With a stunned look, she said, "So what you're saying is that… due to the Kyuubi's youki being added to… you know, anything that normally would have cause me to become pregnant would be eliminated for JUST the ritual?" Naruto nodded. Hinata bowed her head solemnly, and then looked back at him with mischievous eyes.

"I guess that means we'll be together for the rest of the day and all of tonight, huh?" she said, making Naruto smile a bit. His smile held a combination of joy, nervousness… and fright. If this was a side of Hinata he hadn't known about… what else about herself was she hiding?

Hinata gave Naruto a wink before she set off for the bathroom, no doubt to clean up a bit after her earlier…activities. Naruto turned his mind inward, going to chat with the fox.

"_Alright, Kyuu-kun, what do I have to do?"_ Naruto asked, receiving a small chuckle from the fox.

"_**I'm sorry, you?"**_ The fox said, _**"You don't have to do anything but have sex, Kit. I've got the big job here. Open the gates and let me out; I have to set the room up for the ritual: The Rite of Demonic Energy Transference Sealing Ritual."**_ Naruto looked at the fox in disbelief.

"_AND "The Rite of Demonic Energy Transference Sealing" is what, exactly? What are you talking about?"_ Naruto asked, now slightly scared.

The fox simply gave Naruto its best semblance of a sympathetic smile as it shrank down to the shape of a man. The man resembled Naruto in almost every way, save for the yellow eyes with red slit pupils, clawed hands, small red fox ears, and nine red tails rising out behind it. The Kyuubi looked Naruto in the eyes and smiled again.

"_**What it means, Kit,"**_ The Fox said, _**"Is that once the Ritual is complete, I will cease to exist. Over the past year, my youki has been slowly seeping through the seal and into your body, permeating it. You've become a hanyou, boy. And once the Ritual is complete, my powers… will ALL be yours. Wait, it'll become yours and Hinata's, actually. Together, you two will become the NEW Kyuubi no Kitsune."**_

"_**You see, the Ritual is a means of chopping up my youki into bite sized pieces and splitting it evenly between you and your mate. Once it starts, my youki will begin to divide, the parts that need to complete the conversion of your being into a hanyou, while simultaneously sending the other half into Hinata's body through your "release". When I said my Youki would replace your sperm for the ritual, I was being vague."**_

"_**When your father, the Fourth, sealed me inside you, he split me into two halves: The brighter side, or the Yin, capable of Hoton Jutsu, and myself, the Yang, carrying the darker, more potent parts of me. When you defeated Madara, the Yin side of me, which had been stored in his body. When you beat Pein and that bastard Madara last year, you came into direct contact with the Yin side of my chakra and absorbed it. I was then completely whole, but you took hold of my Yang chakra and began assimilating it into your system." **_

"_**Whatever of my Yang chakra is left will assimilate into your being during the Ritual, while all of my Yin Chakra will be transferred into Hinata's body, which will undergo a gradual assimilation that will leave her a hanyou like you and mark you both as mates for life. I will be lost to the pages of time and remain as no more than the stuff of bad legends."**_

"_**However, I won't be completely gone; my consciousness will remain in your mind AND Hinata's, allowing the three of us to converse. The two of you will remain young for the rest of your eternal lives, and your chakra will never run out, and NO ONE will be able to oppose you. You won't even need to use a Henge to keep your fox traits hidden,"**_ The fox finished. Naruto nodded.

"_I'll still be able to talk to you… right?"_ Naruto asked. The fox nodded. Naruto nodded in approval and stepped aside, opening the fox's cage. Seconds later, when Naruto left his head and opened his eyes, he saw the room completely changed.

Where the walls had previously been coated, top to bottom, with pictures and posters of Naruto, they were now constructed solely of solid stone, with strange, arcane markings all over. Naruto took in the appearance of the room before his eyes landed on the bed, where Hinata sat waiting. Judging just from the look on her face, she was just as nervous about this as he was, if not more so.

A single gaze, held between their nervous eyes for not even five seconds, seemed to calm their nerves as Naruto approached. They both removed their clothes.

Seconds later, Hinata lay on her back with Naruto on top. They looked at each other for a moment before Naruto kissed her; a deep, sensual kiss that prepared them both for what was coming next.

As Naruto kept the kiss going strong, he first used a free hand to gently open her legs, bit by bit. Then, using the same hand, he lined up his tool with her opening and slowly pushed in. Hinata gasped at the contact, but kept kissing him as long as she could. Finally, she let go as he pushed past her virginity, throwing her head back into the pillow while her face gained a pained expression.

"H-Hinata-chan, Are you alright?" Naruto asked, very worried. Hinata looked him in the eyes, joy in her eyes.

'Y-yes… I'm fine. My dream is coming true… Just… be gentle?" she asked.

"Anything you want," he said. He waited about ten seconds, then pulled out slightly before pushing in again. Hinata gripped his shoulders hard; it hurt more than she wanted to admit, but for some reason, it was starting to feel… good.

Naruto leaned down as he pulled out for another thrust and whispered, 'Don't worry about making noise. The room's covered in sound seals so no one except us can hear us. Tell me how you want me to do this.'

Hinata nodded and, still a little scared, whispered back, 'Just … a little faster?" Naruto nodded and sped up just a little, smiling a bit at her gasps. They were sounding less like gasps of pain by the second. He kept up like that, waiting until Hinata asked for a change of pace and immediately granting her wish. A little while later, Naruto had locked lips with Hinata once again, holding her hands on the bed as he all but slammed into her time and time again.__

_**~N: TM~**_

The fox could tell the time was coming. He'd already fixed the first shot full with all of his Yin chakra and half his youki, so there was little left to do but mentally warn the charge. And so he did, not that Naruto could hear him over the sounds of Hinata's pleasured moans reverberating in his mouth. The Kyuubi nodded and sat back, feeling the last dregs of his Yang chakra and youki slipping away

'_**Good luck, Kit…'**_ the Kyuubi thought to itself as it vanished from its cage, leaving behind a small, plush doll of its former self sitting within the seal. It was into this doll that he willed the last of his consciousness to be sealed into the doll. Upon the sealing, the doll's features changed, becoming cuter in comparison to its old, menacing look.

_**~N: TM~**_

Naruto could feel himself nearing the end of the line. He knew what needed to be done, and how he had to do it. Moving so as not to hurt Hinata, he lifted her body up into a sitting position and continued to pound away, keeping their lips firmly locked together until the moment of truth.

"H-HINATA!"

"NARUTO!"

A single scream of each other's name was all the time they needed before they exploded into mutual orgasm. Naruto's first shot, laden with youki and chakra, shot straight up into Hinata's womb, the youki and chakra spreading into her body while the fluid was left to be pushed out by her own juices. Naruto, for the first time ever, found himself a little worn, and with little effort, laid the both of them down on the bed in each other's arms.

Hinata smiled, saying, "We're not done yet, right?"

"Not by a long shot. You're the one in control now. Whatever you want to do, that's what we'll do," Naruto said.

With a mischievous grin, Hinata said, "Good thing there's still daylight outside… Cause we're going until late!" Naruto smiled a little, getting a bit nervous again. He checked the clock by the bed and noticed it was three-thirty.

"We have plenty of time. Maybe we should take an hour nap and get back into it when we wake up?" he asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I can't guarantee I'll be in the mood after an hour of sleep. PLEASE, Naru-kun?" she asked, a longing look in her eyes. Naruto found he couldn't say no.

"If I could make a little request, though," Hinata said, "When dinner-time comes around, I want to mess with Hanabi a little."

"You… you want to mess with your sister WHILE having sex?" Naruto asked incredulously. He thought it over for several seconds, and then gave her an evil smile.

"You're really evil, you know that?" he asked, giggling with her as he leaned down and kissed her hard.

Over the next two hours, not a sound came from the room. Only INSIDE could sounds be heard: screams, grunts, groans, moans and sighs of pleasure saturated the air between various smacking and slapping noises.

At five-thirty-two, a young girl, with long black hair and the same pale eyes as Hinata, stepped up to the door to her sister's room and knocked. The two inside nodded to each other and changed position so Hinata was once again on Naruto's lap.

"Hinata-neechan, dinner time!" the short girl said, only to be met in response by the sound of her sister gasping and moaning.

"Ah-al-alright, H-Hanabi-chan… mmmm… I-I'll be d-down as soon as I c-OH KAMI!" she replied, gasping at random points and screaming the last two words. Even Hiashi, downstairs cooking at the time, heard that and nodded.

"Ah… so that's what they've been up to… My little girl's all grown up now…" the elder Hyuuga said as he expertly flipped an egg.

Back upstairs, Hanabi gained a deep red blush. There were only two things in the world that EVER made her older sister scream like that: a painful training injury… and fantasizing about her precious "Naru-kun". With closed eyes and a look of embarrassment on her face, she reached for the handle and slid the door open, ignoring the odd smell.

"Really, nee-chan, did you HAVE to start doing that right before- wh-wha?" the young girl stammered. Upon entering the room, she'd opened one eye, only for both to slam open at the sight before her. Not only was Naruto in her sister's bedroom, both he AND her sister were sitting naked on her sister's bed, Hinata sitting almost limp in Naruto's lap.

With his left hand on her right breast and his right cupped over her sex, two fingers entering and exiting the entrance rapidly while his thumb rubbed her tiny bud, Naruto had his face buried in her right shoulder, while her head was leaned back in the crook of his left shoulder. Hanabi didn't need her Byakugan to see the older boy's stiff member; it was resting against his lower hand. Hinata raised her head from Naruto's shoulder to look at her sister, a look of total, ecstatic bliss written all over her face.

"Ahhh … H-Hanabi-n-neechan… W-welcome! OH~H… Would you l-like to join us? Mmmm… N-Naru-k-kun's EXTREMELY g-gentle to first time girls-OH DEAR KAMI!"Hinata cooed, once again screaming the last words she spoke as Naruto brought her to orgasm in front of her sister. Hanabi watched, eyes stuck open wide, as a blast of fluid loosed itself from her sister's body and pooled on the floor.

Without another second's thought, Hanabi ran out of the room, slamming the sliding door shut as the last of her dark-crimson flush left their sight. Naruto took his hands from his mate and chuckled a bit.

"I think we've traumatized her plenty, don't you?" he said, showing Hinata his hand, soaked in his juices. She smiled back.

"I believe so…" she said with an airy voice, "I just hope that reached Neji-kun. He's got a stick so far up his ass that … no, not even TWO loud orgasm screams will be able to budge that stick." Both teens fell back on the bed, laughing heartily.

"Think we should go eat something?" Naruto asked, moments before both their stomachs growled.

Giggling a bit, Hinata said, "Beaten to the punch! Yeah, let's go eat. That way we can torment poor, little Hanabi a little more… and maybe get a rise out of Neji-kun!" Naruto laughed.

"You REALLY ARE evil! But you know something?" Naruto asked, looking Hinata in the eyes, "That's just ONE of the many things I love about you. We have our now immortal lives to find out everything about each other… and fall in love over and over again for every new thing, right?"

Hinata thought about this for a second, and then said, "So… if I started cutting myself again, you'd just fall in love with me again, instead of trying to help me?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Are you serious? NO! I'd help you first, love you throughout… and then MAKE love TO you to help you feel better after. When you're ready, of course," he said. She reached over to kiss his cheek.

"Good answer. Now let's get dressed and go torture my family members!" she said with a wicked smile. Naruto smiled.

"And besides, I can't see any reason you'd ever feel like doing that again… You've got me, and I'm more than capable of satisfying you, as I showed you!" he said with a smile. Hinata smiled and waited for him to get his shirt over his head, then kissed him hard on the lips with his eyes covered.

"You're right. You're all I'll ever need. I doubt I'll ever feel that depressed again!" Hinata said, her smile matching his now. They finished dressing and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

Hanabi, sitting with her back to the glass patio door, was directly facing the stairs where her beloved sister came into view, holding hands with her new boyfriend… Hinata and Naruto smirked as Hanabi lowered her gaze to her plate as a deeper shade of crimson crept over her face and neck.

Neji was sitting on Hanabi's left, with Hiashi on his left, both men looking stoic. Naruto silently wondered what it was about Hyuuga men and letting their hair grow out past their shoulders…

Naruto took a seat in the remaining seat next to Hanabi, her face turning an even DARKER shade of red, while Hinata sat between Naruto and her father.

For fifteen minutes, no one said a word as the food slowly vanished from the five plates. Hiashi and Neji would occasionally steal one-eyed glances at Naruto and their fellow Hyuuga family members, and wondering why Hanabi seemed uncomfortable.

Finally, sick of the silence, Hiashi piped up and said, "So, Neji, how's your Jyuken training coming? I understand you were trying to improve against the Vacuum Palm Technique."

Neji nodded and stated he'd made some strides, but would need at least a couple more days to work out a few kinks he'd found in it. Naruto fought to keep from laughing, but couldn't stop himself moments later.

Out of nowhere, Hinata looked at her cousin with an innocent smile and said, "Very interesting, Neji-kun. So tell me… is there anyone you're seeing recently? Maybe a special girl in your life that you'd like to "work the kinks out of"?" Neji's face turned bright pink and Hiashi choked on a piece of chicken coughing it back into his plate a moment later As Hanabi sank in her seat. Naruto lost it and burst into hysteric laughter.

"W-what is so funny, Naruto-san?" Neji demanded. He soon wished he hadn't.

Naruto, who had allowed his face to drop into his mashed potatoes, straightened up, noticed his reflection in the door behind Hanabi and smirked evilly as he looked directly at Neji and said, "Oh come on, Neji-san. You can't tell me you've never had fantasies about making a girl's face look like mine? And don't deny it; I've seen the way you watch Tenten-san as she leaves the training field! I'll bet every thought in your head turns into 'Oh Kami, what I'd give to lay her out flat and make her SCREAM my name! Oh the things I'd do to her!'"

Hinata lost it when Neji's face almost imploded. Embarrassed, Neji ran from the room, followed by Hanabi, who was now terrified at how Naruto and Hinata were acting. Naruto had never shown an interest in girls, and Hinata… had NEVER behaved like this.

Hiashi, on the other hand, was bent over the kitchen sink, hacking his brains out as he laughed. The sight of Neji's face at Naruto's query made him laugh harder by the second; moments later, having wiped the potato mash from his face, Naruto joined in. After fifteen minutes all three calmed down and retook their seats, Naruto and Hinata having fallen out of their chairs and onto their sides from laughter.

Hiashi gathered himself and asked, "So does this mean you and Hinata are… you know, Naruto-san?" Naruto's eyes bugged; Hiashi had NEVER called him by first name before.

"Y-yes," Naruto said as his nervousness dissipated while he spoke "I chose Hinata for my mate… and, for lack of a better term, we've consummated our relationship. And, before you ask," he said, seeing the worried look on Hiashi's face, "No, I have no intentions of leaving Hinata for anyone else. I'll admit that I had feelings for that pink-haired Haruno in the past, but now I harbor no such feelings. Hinata's the only one I can remember offering aide when I needed it, and I wouldn't want anyone else at my side. I guess you could say… Hinata and I are two halves of the same whole." Hiashi looked deep in thought for a moment.

Soon, a big smile on his face, he said, "Excellent. That's what I wanted to hear. You will always be welcome here… especially if you can keep messing with Neji-san. Hanabi will need a bit of therapy to get her back the way she was… But I have to ask… what exactly do to her to make her run off after Neji-san that way?" Naruto gave Hinata a look, and she went over to whisper in her father's ear. Naruto watched as the older man frowned.

"Good thing we Hyuuga have a large treasury…" Hiashi said, shaking his head. Naruto winced.

"How soon should I be preparing for grandchildren?" Hiashi asked. Hinata was about to answer when Naruto motioned for her to let him speak.

"All I can tell you, sir…" Naruto said, "Is that an early prospect of grandkids hinges ENTIRELY on whether or not Hinata's adamant on her "late into the night" thing. She was telling me she wanted to go into the late hours. Hinata?" He looked over to see her smiling.

"Now that you've told Father my plans, there's no getting out of it now!" she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him back to her room. Naruto shrugged his shoulders with a smile as he passed Hiashi.

The older man smiled, and then sat down.

"Good luck, Naruto-san… you're going to need it…"

_**~N: TM~  
>~ SEVERAL YEARS LATER… ~<strong>_

Naruto and Hinata sat atop the Hokage monument admiring what was soon to be theirs to keep safe.

Only a few weeks ago Naruto had proposed, and right in front of her father at the dinner table. Hanabi had smiled a genuine smile for the first time in years after what she referred to as the "INCIDENT"; in fact, the event had been so traumatizing that any time someone brought it up in her presence, she'd haul off and beat them. Neji had nodded and bowed to Naruto, thanking him for taking such good care of Hinata and keeping her safe, and encouraging him to do EXACTLY that from that day onward… or he'd be intervening PERSONALLY. Naruto shivered a bit at the thought.

Hiashi had simply nodded and said, "Congratulations to you both. In fact… I had some news for you as well, Naruto." He whistled, prompting the entrance of Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama? What brings you here? Neji asked.

"Don't give me that, Neji. You know EXACTLY why I'm here," Tsunade had said, turning a smile on Naruto.

"Tsunade-baa?" Naruto asked, confused and frightened.

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Tsunade had said, "In honor of your proposal AND for your continued outstanding protection of our village… I, Senju Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, hereby declare YOU the next Hokage!" She said while producing the symbolic hat and placing it square on the blonde's head. Naruto almost fainted, but a sniff of the air brought the scent of Hinata to him. She smelled… Naruto snapped out of it and smiled. He was in for a wild night.

"HOWEVER," Tsunade said, taking the hat back, "I will ONLY step down after you've been married, and I'll make the announcement on the day of your return to the village from your honeymoon. How does that sound?" Naruto pouted.

"Alright," he said, "I'm good with that. I humbly accept the title under your terms." Naruto had barely gotten to his feet to shake hands with Tsunade and close the deal when Hinata jumped up, turned him around and planted a deep kiss on his lips. Everyone at the table, including Tsunade, cheered.

"Just think, Hina," Naruto said, using his pet name for Hinata, "In a few months we get married… then after a couple more, we come home and I become Hokage… It's like a dream come true!" Hinata smiled and cuddled close to his chest.

"In what way?" she asked.

Smiling, Naruto kissed the crown of her head and said, "I'm madly in love with the girl I'm set to marry in a few month's time, and I'm going to be acknowledged as the Hokage. I've got everything I've got everything I've always wanted now." Hinata smiled.

"That night, at the party all those years ago, you gave me one of my dreams; my first kiss was with you. And the night we first made love… that was my biggest dream come true. IF, and I mean IF, I were to die tomorrow… I'd be able to die a VERY happy woman," Hinata said. Naruto gave her a look, then thought better of it and relaxed.__

_**~N: TM~**_

Later that night, the two were in Hinata's bed, sleeping soundly. However, inside their heads, they were awake and enjoying each other's company. The little fox doll that the Kyuubi had left behind had gotten up and started playing with them when a spark erupted in the space, allowing through it the passage of two people. Naruto recognized both: Himself and Hinata in about eighteen years.

"_I see everything's going alright eighteen years from now…"_ Naruto said with a smile as his older self nodded.

"**Indeed it is… TOU-SAN,"** The boy said, smiling at Naruto. Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"_Wait… Tou-san? Does that mean…"_ Naruto asked.

"_Naru-kun, what's he talking about? Who are these people?"_ Hinata asked. The girl looked over at Hinata and smiled.

"_Hina… I think … they're our CHILDREN!"_ Naruto said.  
>_<p>

And there you have it. The end of this little story. Hope you enjoyed it. ^_^ R&R, CONSTRUCTIVE FLAMES Accepted. ^_^

* Jūho Sōshiken: Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists  
>*Jyuken: Gentle Fist<p> 


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